Lost in the Desert
by Nuit Songeur
Summary: A young, energetic girl skips her magician-in-training classes in order to have some fun with her friend, the future pharaoh of Egypt. However, things go awry when she finds herself utterly lost in the desert. Who will help her? Apprenticeshipping.
1. Happiness in its Brevity

**A/N:** Originally a One-shot. Then... it got too long. But it's my second shot at Apprenticeshipping.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

**Warnings:** God knows when I'll update this. Odd horse name. And... I do not bash characters or pairings. But, this is not Vaseshipping.

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Mana laughed, the sound of her voice breaking through the desert's silence. The hot, Egyptian sun burned mercilessly into her tanned skin. With this heat, Mana felt invigorated, energy pulsing through her veins- only multiplied by the sweat dewing her brow. The horse she was on was just a young mare, similar to Mana herself with its bright sense of curiosity and young years. When the mare moved, each step reflected both its and Mana's unbridled enthusiasm.

Why were they so joyous? Mana couldn't actually speak for the horse but she knew the reason behind her own happiness; she managed to escape Mahad's eagle eyes and skip today's lesson and Atem, as well, accompanied Mana after sneaking out of the royal palace. Now, they were both on horseback, safely out of the city's sight, and were both merrily spending their selfly-given free day.

"We should do this more often," Mana said after her bit of laughter. Her mare snorted, as if in agreement. Atem only contemplated her with a smile, marred by his suddenly sad, amethyst eyes.

"This _is_ fun Mana," he said. "But we've each got our own duties to tend to. You're training to be a master magician. I, on the other hand, am preparing to become Egypt's pharaoh. We can't be careless like this all the time."

Mana's exuberant mood seemed to plummet instantly at his words. She knew he spoke the truth but still- she sometimes wished she had her old friend back. The one who was always ready and willing to skip class with her and have some fun. Now, it seemed as if Atem had grown up- become the serious teenager everyone expected him to be as prince of Egypt. Mana, however, was determined to cling to her childhood; she wasn't ready to grow up just yet.

She feigned a smile, for Atem's benefit, and was determined to keep her mood happy.

"That still doesn't mean we can't have fun _now_," she shot back playfully. Atem's somber eyes brightened up once again with her statement.

"You're right," he agreed. An idea then sprang to Mana's mind.

"Come on!" she said, even more animated than before. "Let's race like we used to. For old time's sake!" Atem's smile turned into a mischievous grin.

"All right, for old time's sake. In fact, let's raise the stakes like we used to. First one to reach the pyramids wins. Loser has to be the winner's slave for the rest of the day." Mana's smile disappeared once again.

She never won those kinds of bets; Atem was always better on horseback and he knew well of it. But still, when training with Mahad she did admittedly get better at it. Maybe she would win for a change and _he_ would be the one getting _her_ spiced bread from the marketplace while balancing a jar of water on his head.

"Deal," she said smirking, clenching her hands on the horse reins tightly. Her confidence did nothing to subdue his cockiness, his self-assurance; he always won every race. They brought their horses side-by-side and Mana was the one to always make sure that they each were equally distant from the pyramids- making sure he didn't cheat. When she had gotten back on her mare, she was the one to call it.

"Ready…set…_go_!" And with a kick, both horses were off.

At first, Mana could honestly and proudly say that she was doing quite well; those lessons with Mahad were paying off. But then, Atem cheated.

Being the wonderfully rich prince he was, it wasn't difficult for one to discern he had practically everything at his disposal. Expensive, fast racing horses were no exception.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Mana shouted as her mare began to considerably fall behind. Atem didn't acknowledge that he had heard her. And he probably couldn't, not over the roar of his own triumphant laughter.

"What's the matter, Mana? Can't catch up?" he chided playfully to her. She pursed her lips, pouting, as the disappointed mare soon discovered she was unable to keep stride with Atem's white stallion. When this realization struck the horse, she began to slow even more until they were going a steady slow pace. Mana tried urging the mare on.

"Come on, Coco! We can still beat them! Have faith in yourself! We don't quit that easily!" But apparently, Coco did. To Mana's dismay, the mare was stubborn as she was curious and refused to go any faster than their current speed. Mana sighed in defeat, glancing up to see Atem was only a mere speck on the horizon. As she stopped Coco and jumped off, she wondered when he would realize that they weren't participating in their little race anymore. He _was_ an extremely competitive person so it might be a while.

"Well, in that case, the deal's off. He shouldn't have cheated anyway." The mare snorted in agreement and Mana flopped herself on the sand, lying on her back and closing her eyes to the big, bright blue sky. "I mean really, he knows better than to use one of the horses the Romans gave him as a birthday gift. Not all of us are important as him to have everything at their disposal, ya' know."

Mana sighed again, listening to Coco paw at the ground. She wasn't really angry with Atem- she could never be. It was just that he had to win _everything_. Sometimes he could be just too competitive for his own good. And, one of these days, she was going to beat him…at something. She just didn't quite know what it was yet.

"I wonder if Master Mahad will be too angry with me. He never likes it when I skip. He always says that I have to be more responsible if I want to be a master magician someday." Mana scoffed. "Sometimes I think Master Mahad just needs to loosen up and have some fun. He's always so uptight all the time. I don't think I've even ever heard him laugh before. It's kind of sad really. Don't you think so, Coco?" Mana asked, addressing her mare. However, this time, there was no snort or pawing of the ground at Mana's words. Not a sound.

Puzzled, Mana sat up to look around for the horse. After a moment of searching, Mana found the mare- just a brown dot in the distance. Mana blinked, slowly realizing her own means of transportation was fast disappearing.

"_Coco_!" Mana exclaimed, springing to her feet. "Coco, come back here!" Mana took off running but- no matter how fast her short legs carried her- Coco's small speck never seemed to get any closer. Mana stopped running and huffed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Well, this is just my luck. The one day I manage to skip class with Atem- he cheats at racing and completely deserts me while Coco decides to leave me as well. I guess this means I've got to walk all the way home, now. Not looking forward to that." Mana sighed hopelessly, turning away from Coco's miniscule speck. "I can't believe I didn't hear her leave. Master Mahad is right- sometimes I'm just too unobservant or distracted or whatever he calls. I wonder why Coco ran off anyways." Mana glanced up at the sky and saw her answer.

In the distance, a large dark mass was swirling around, partially blocking the sun's light. A sand storm was coming.

"Well that's not good," Mana speculated, her eyes widening nervously. She looked around at her surroundings, hoping to catch sight of Coco or Atem. To her disappointment, she could see neither. And what was worse- Mana had no idea where she was. That was the problem when one lacked a sense of direction- you usually had no idea where you were. And Mana had no idea where she currently was or where she should go for that matter. And the ominous dark cloud was steadily getting closer.

"Atem!" Mana shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to project her voice. She had no luck, however, when calling for Atem; she still could not see him.

So, Mana was in an interesting dilemma. Her horse was gone, Atem was no where around, and- if she didn't act fast- Mana would soon find herself caught in a sand storm.

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I'm going to push myself to finish this story. It's not suppose to get too long. But you never know.

Please review!

**_-Nuit Songeur_**


	2. A Memory Free as Sand

**A/N:** Here is the second installment. Sorry it took me so long to update. But, please enjoy.

**Warnings:** Maybe slight Season 5 spoilers. And when I edited- there didn't seem to be that many mistakes during my read-through. But, it's still probably riddled with them.

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Mahad crossed the palace's plaza, set at an irritated pace, and continued to fume profusely. His Egyptian robes swirled around his taut, muscular frame and the morning air held that of a refreshing one. It didn't soothe him; Mana had skipped that morning's magic lesson, _again_. For the first few times, Mahad had let it pass, deciding to turn a blind eye to her actions. That was the first two times. Now, it was probably her sixth or seventh time she had skipped in just that month alone.

How could she expect to become a magician? How could she even expect to become a mere _apprentice_? She always begged and begged that he might take her one of the magician's missions. And, Mahad had even minutely considered doing so. But now? Oh no. At the rate she was currently going, she might finish her training by the time the gods decided to end all life in Egypt!

Mahad stopped his angry pacing, just realizing that a nearby group of priests were eyeing him warily and talking to each other in hushed tones. Mahad grimaced and swiftly turned his back on them, easily guessing their topic of conversation.

Not surprising- the youngest magician master unable to keep up with his students. And, not only that but a female student! Sure, women were steadily gaining a more superior role in their society nowadays but for them to have any power at all was still looked down upon, a taboo subject. Not too many of the other priests were too happy in learning Mana would be a student, much less a student of Mahad; the youngest, most inexperienced of them. It was quite often discussed among the others at how he only got to his position simply because of his close ties with the royal family. And even though he knew it wasn't necessarily true, Mahad couldn't help but loathe Mana's laziness for making him look like an even bigger fool in the eyes of the other magicians.

"Mahad!" one called out, breaking his angry stream of temperament. Mahad turned at the sound of his name and saw they were each looking at him, quite pointedly. Mahad sighed impatiently and went over to them.

"Yes, what is it?" The elder of the group addressed him.

"You say that girl student of yours, Mana, is missing?" Mahad, despite his respect for those elderly, couldn't help but narrow his eyes at him; he had made that factor obvious earlier.

"Yes, she is."

"Isn't she a friend of the prince?" At the mention of Atem, the planes of Mahad's face lost their hardness in effect of his own surprise.

"Yes, I do believe she is."

"Isn't that something," he mused to himself.

"What is?"

"He's missing as well. The pharaoh's been causing an uproar at the palace because of it." At this, Mahad felt his narrowed eyes widen in surprise. For an insurmountable moment, he stared at the elder in his own disbelief. But he quickly recovered, blinking away his stupor.

_Oh Mana…_ he thought exasperatedly, mentally shaking his head as he realized the only probable possibility; Atem was with Mana. If the pharaoh or someone else of high status were to discover that she was responsible for the prince's slinking away… What was she doing, anyway? Sure she did this when they were younger but they weren't kids anymore! Such things weren't proper, weren't proper at all.

"Mahad?" asked the elder carefully, voicing his concern over Mahad's silence. Mahad's attention managed to find its way to the present at the sound of his voice.

"If you will excuse me, gentlemen, I'm going to look for my student and possibly the prince." Mahad was just about to turn away from the gathered group when the elder interjected once again.

"You might want to be careful; Isis has predicted a bad sand storm coming." Mahad felt his back stiffen, but nodded curtly at the piece of information before swiftly marching his way out of the plaza. He made his way to the stables, all the while thinking vehement thoughts about Mana's ignorance. It was her fault that he looked like an idiot in the eyes of the other priests. And now, it was going to be her fault if something happened to the prince. Did she have _any_ idea at what kind of punishment that would entail? If something happened to the prince, that could mean death for her! It didn't matter if she was a young woman in training to serve as high priestess. It didn't mean if her intentions meant no harm. And what of Atem? He knew of these consequences, it wasn't like him to be so careless. Did he not care whether or not if it was Mana instead of him that faced retribution? It wasn't entirely Mana's fault; she was naïve about the whole situation and what it could possibly mean. Why didn't Atem try to dissuade her?

Mahad took a deep, even breath in an attempt to control his angry thoughts; anger wouldn't help solve anything. And anger surely wasn't going to help him find Mana or Prince Atem.

He had made it to the stables and had his horse ready for riding when he looked up at the bright Egyptian sun, blinking away some of the bright light as a hawk soared above. He watched this hawk, reminded of how one such as this would obey Mana and send messages for her. And for a fleeting moment, he wondered if this was the same hawk that belonged to Mana.

"_The birds don't belong to anyone, Mahad. They're just friends that help out when the fancy suits them. The day a bird belongs to someone is the day they stop flying."_

Mahad gave a small start of surprise at hearing Mana's voice inside his own head. He remembered this statement she had told him when he inquired upon her bird fetish last week. And he had remembered his own response:

"_Mana, if you go out into the markets right now, you'll see merchants selling exotic birds from as far away as India and Greece. Those birds belong to someone and they still fly."_

Mana had shook her head defiantly and bent down to pick up a handful of sand. She had stood up and shown it to him, as if proving a point.

"_What is this, Mahad?"_

"_Sand, what else?"_

"_What is used for?"_

"_People walk on it."_

"_Could you walk on this?" _She nodded her head to her outstretched palm, indicating the sand

"_No but-"_

"_Then therefore, because this amount of sand belongs to me at the moment, it's purpose is unrequited."_

"_Mana, you're not making any sense." _

She had opened her fingers and let all but a few grains sift through the cracks in her fingers and fall to the ground.

"_Now, I have relinquished ownership of some of the sand, and it has returned back to the ground where it can be of use again."_

"_You're still not making any sense."_

"_What else is sand used for, Mahad?" _He had to think for a moment.

"_Farming."_ She nodded and smiled.

"_Could you grow or farm anything with the sand remaining my hand."_ Mahad had remembered sighing.

"_No,"_ he had admitted. _"But it still doesn't prove anything, Mana."_ She dusted the rest of the sand off on her skirt and walked a few feet away from him to draw a square on the sand with the toe of her foot.

"_Supposing this patch of sand belonged to me, could I grow anything in it?"_ Mahad stared at the square. It was small but it could in fact grow something.

"_Yes, you could. But that just contradicts your original theory."_

"_No it doesn't. But because it can fulfill its purpose, the sand doesn't belong to me."_

"_That's nonsense."_

And then Mana's temper, usually nonexistent, flared at that moment when Mahad had criticized her idea.

"_How do you prove something belongs to you, Mahad? How? You push it into submission until it knows no worth! How do you think the slaves feel?!" _And, with that, Mana, upon realizing what she had just said, widened her eyes and quickly clasped her tanned hands over mouth. And, in a swift moment, promptly turned away from Mahad and dashed away, as if for her life. And no matter how long or loud he called out _"Mana!"_ or how fast he ran after her, she didn't acknowledge him. So after a while, he gave up, feeling extremely guilty he had hurt her feelings, unintentionally.

Mahad remembered that conversation well but he wondered why it had just reoccurred for him now. He looked back up at the blue sky and saw the hawk fly off into the distance, becoming nothing more than a black smudge against the horizon. And, upon thinking back to Isis' prediction about the sand storm, wondered if Mana would use the hawk to send for help. His hands flexed instinctively at the thought of Mana being caught in the sand storm, gripping the horse reigns tightly. He turned his steed around, so he could begin looking for his prince and his apprentice when he saw the objects of his search approach him with speed and urgency.

It was Mana's brown mare, Coco. And for a split second, Mahad allowed a moment of relief wash over him as he saw Atem on his white stallion accompanying the mare. But as they drew closer, Mahad saw Coco's saddle empty of its rider and Atem's face empty of his usual patience and serenity. Replaced with that of worry and anxiousness as Atem held onto Coco's reigns.

Mahad felt his face hardened into an expression that matched for Atem's distress as he yelled out, "What happened? Where is Mana?"

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I apologize again for keeping you waiting. Please review- I appreciate them all, even though I do not respond to them all.

**_-Nuit Songeur_**


	3. Those Deserving

**A/N:** I'm so sorry that this chapter took me so long to get out. My laptop crashed and it took some maneuvering of mine to gain access to a computer for sometime.

**Warnings:** Probable typos. As always.

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**Chapter Three: Those Deserving**

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"Oh no, oh no_, oh no!_ This is not good. Not good at all!" Mana fretted, pacing rather quickly in a repetitive circle as she periodically glanced up at the oncoming sand storm. This was all her fault; if she hadn't snuck out of the palace and done what she was supposed then she wouldn't be in this dreadful situation. She supposed the gods were handing her retribution to her for being disobedient to her master. She could hear it now, what Master Mahad would say. _This is what you get for being irresponsible. _Or, _You shouldn't have been skipping classes like you do all the time._ Or something else to that effect.

Mana stopped her pacing and sighed. Master Mahad thought nothing of her but a childish girl who was nothing more than a baby in his eyes. And, for some inexplicable reason, that hurt Mana somewhat. Gave her a small ache within her belly. But Mana shook her head, shooing that thought away. If she really cared of what Mahad thought of her, then why did she disobey him so much? What was she trying to prove in her teenage rambunctiousness? That she could do things on her own? Not likely. Mahad would only be convinced that she was simply immature. Too immature for him most definitely.

Mana bit her lip. She wasn't necessarily immature. At least, she didn't think so. She hoped not. Mana just simply thought that she was a teenager who wanted to have some fun every now and then. Perhaps that was immature in the eyes of everyone else. Besides, what did it matter if Mahad thought her immature? What need did she have to worry about that? It's not like she had any sort of _chance_ with him. For one, there was that somewhat of an age gap between them. Not that large but perhaps just enough where he thought her too young for him to even consider. Not only that, but there was nothing that she saw in herself that Mahad could be even minutely interested in. Especially when Mana compared herself to the regal priestess, Isis. A woman far superior than Mana and one that was a closer match for Mahad.

Mana suppressed another sigh rising within her chest. There was no need to dwell on such depressing ideas; Mana needed to focus on the predicament at hand. With that last thought, Mana glanced back up at the encroaching dust cloud and, with a cold thrill of fear coursing through her veins, saw it was advancing quickly and was a lot closer to her spot than when she last looked upon it. Out of instinct, Mana began running in the opposite direction, starting a desperate pursuit of finding shelter or some sort of safe haven.

"Stupid, stupid Mana," she said to herself, her voice ragged from running. "Master Mahad warned you against distractions. Heh," she scoffed at her own stupidity. "Worrying about what Master Mahad thinks of you rather than saving your own skin! I really am pathetic." She stopped talking to conserve the oxygen in her lungs for running. After a few minutes of running, there was still no sign of any shelter and when she looked over her shoulder Mana saw the large dust cloud only become closer. She tried running faster, pushing herself to her utmost limits. She was indeed a fast runner but in a race against a sandstorm, her knack for running was deemed useless. She wouldn't be able to beat it, already her lungs burned and her legs ached from pumping up and down. She was surely in a tight spot.

She wasn't watching where she was going, just concentrating on putting as much space between her and the cloud of sand. And as per usual when one does not pay attention, Mana's right foot caught on a loose stone, about the size of her own foot and she tripped. Instinctively to break the fall, Mana quickly raised her arms out in front of her face and closed her eyes. She felt it when her knees scraped against the rough sand, when her palms came into contact with the hot ground, but there was more.

Her palms shifted, sliding forward on a slight incline. And Mana continued falling, tumbling down, rolling, and body banging against the slope. Her legs became tangled within themselves, somewhere her left knee banging against something hard with an ominous _crack_. And at some point, something slapped her across the face before she finally came to a full and complete stop.

She laid there on the ground, not moving for a few moments, her face pressed against the hot sand. Mana took a deep breath and, lifting her head, opened her eyes, gasping out a small, "Ouch."

She lifted herself slightly, trying to sit up, and supporting her weight on her arms. But her arms wouldn't support much- they were shaking. Quite terribly. Jarred from the impact. Mana gave a small groan and, with a sharp intake of breath, managed to sit up in order to examine herself.

Her legs were stinging painfully and covered in various scrapes, trickling blood, and other places where her tan, Egyptian skin had broken. Her left one was bruised up pretty badly and stuck out at somewhat an odd angle. Mana hesitantly pressed around the bruised area and grimaced when pain erupted from where her fingertips brushed against. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting against the tears of pain she felt coming on.

Okay, she had to assess her current position. She was banged up some but she didn't think her leg was broken, just bruised or sprang but not entirely broken. If she had to, she was pretty sure could walk. Or, limp. She doubted she would able to put any weight on her left leg. But other than the few scrapes, her right one was fine in comparison.

"Oh," Mana groaned. "Mana, you silly, stupid, unobservant girl. What have you gotten yourself into now?" She glanced up at what she had fallen off of and saw a slope dipping down into the small ditch she was currently sitting in. And, looking around Mana could tell that the ditch was a small embankment for a miniscule brook flowing nearby. Probably branched off from the Nile. Still, Mana felt completely idiotic for not noticing it beforehand. Now, not only was she going to get caught in a sandstorm, but she was going to get caught in the sandstorm without any capability to seek shelter.

"What to do, what to do, what to do?" Mana asked herself in a strained voice that clearly displayed her anxiousness. She glanced up at the darkening sky when a low rumbling resounded, accompanied with a high-pitch whistling of sand slicing through the air. The sandstorm was upon her and she had to act fast. As quickly as she could, Mana crawled her way over to the bottom of the incline, the edge of the small ditch, and tied a bandana over her face, protecting her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears from invading sand. She curled up as tightly as she could against the outcropping limestone, ducked her head between her raised arms, bent her injured, sore legs up towards her chest as much as she could, and turned her clothed, protected back exposed as the swirling sand swept over her.

Meanwhile, a hawk was circling far above Mana's location, keen eyes trained on her fading spot as it was blanketed in the cloud of dust. His human, his favorite human, was in danger. The human girl that always fed him small scraps of bread or meat. And, in return, she only asked for several messages to be delivered among her acquaintances and never as so much put him in a cage. He had to do something, he had to help her. She didn't deserve to be placed in such a horrid situation. She was too kind. But how could he help her?

The hawk's wings expanded out as he floated along a current of air. He stopped his circling when a horse, riding fast, appeared in his line of sight. The hawk blinked. The human, whoever it was, was still far away. Or, at least, far away from Mana's spot. And he seemed to be in desperate pursuit. Definitely a he, the female humans never rode with such callousness. Always graceful in their own way. But who was this male? He was actually riding _toward_ the sandstorm whereas most humans would avoid such calamities. Maybe he was out looking for Mana. In which case the hawk would gladly assist him. The bird took a dive forward, plunging closer to the ground and closer to the horse and its rider.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed this. Please review and I promise I'll try to update sooner.

**_-NuitSongeur_**


	4. Further in Debt

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay. Here is chapter four! The ending of this story is near!

**Warnings: **Bakura, with references pertaining to him as such. And probable typos.

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**Chapter Four: Further in Debt**

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Mahad was off, spurring his horse as fast as it would go and following the faint speck that was what he suspected to be the hawk Mana frequently used. He kept his eyes solely trained on it, never letting it out of his sight, and watched as it suddenly plunged toward the ground, with a new purpose in its sudden change of direction. Mahad stared and watch it disappear over the horizon, his eyes widening. What was he doing? Had he been not leading him the way toward Mana? Was he hunting for prey, instead, something that such a bird was known to do? Mahad grit his teeth in annoyance. He shouldn't have expected any different from an _animal_. Mana might have placed her full confidence in them but that didn't mean he had to or that it wasn't a careless decision.

He reined in his horse to a full stop. Where to go now? Mahad had to act quickly. More than likely, Mana had already been swallowed up by the sand storm and the trouble would be finding her, that is, if she had survived. But Mahad quickly pushed that thought away; it was absurd. Mana knew how to take of herself. So therefore, no need to worry over such trifles.

Mahad heaved an impatient sigh and kept riding toward the direction he'd remember seeing the hawk. Even though a useless feat, it was still his only one. He pushed the horse as fast as it would go, looking for any sign of the sandstorm. After riding for several minutes and swiveling his gaze this way and that, Mahad was able to finally catch something that indicated the storm. Over to his right, there was brown smudge that bordered the horizon, its dimension not compatible with that of the ground below it. He veered the horse sharply in that direction and chased it down furiously, for he saw, within a short amount of time, that the sandstorm was retreating from Mahad.

He continued riding. Not stopping, never stopping. He couldn't _stop_. Mana was out there. Poor Mana, all by herself. He _had_ to get to her.

After what seemed an endless, unmeasured amount of time, Mahad found himself to be sweating profusely and his horse to be panting with labored gasps. He pulled back the reins a bit and stopped for a moment to rest, mentally apologizing to Mana for his weak need for a reprieve. He had only taken a few gulps of fresh air to calm his rapidly beating heart when a bit further to his right, he heard the screech of a hawk, maybe of _the_ hawk. Mahad's face shot in the direction, gripping the leather bridle once more, feeling his fingers tighten around it instinctively.

His eyes narrowed in the direction, examining the horizon for any sign of what would be Mana. There was a small disturbance in the distance but without hesitation to study it even further, Mahad instantly rode toward it, knowing innately it had to be Mana. The horse heeded to his abrupt and somewhat harsh command obediently and bolted where Mahad's grasp urged him.

It wasn't long before Mahad had to force the horse to skid to a stop, upon approaching a large dip in the ground that formed a small ravine. Mahad's eyes scanned below into it. The bottom of it had a layer of drifting sand from the aftermath of the storm, as did several other places. The sand drifted through the air, making it appear as reddish brown fog. The miniscule stream that wove its way through small valley was slightly sordid with the sand that blew into it.

_Maybe… she's down there? _Mahad thought to himself. Without wasting another moment, he urged the horse to jump down into the ravine. And, after it did so, he set the horse at a slow and easy pace as he searched the depths of the ravine.

Mahad continued through the ravine, his eyes scanning the edges of the ravine carefully. If Mana was caught in the storm, she would seek shelter and this ravine was probably her best bet for shelter. So, she would more than likely be curled next to one of the ravine walls. But, that was if she was even down here.

His horse reared back slightly, stopping, and Mahad looked up, pulling back on the reins. The horse snorted, pawing the ground with a hoof. Mahad tried urging him on but the horse resisted. It was then that Mahad realized there was someone nearby, someone just ahead. Maybe just in front of them. Mahad squinted his eyes trying to see ahead through the thick screen of foggy dust.

"Who's there?" Mahad called out, half wary and half hopeful. Maybe it was Mana or maybe it wasn't. "Mana?" He saw a dark figure appear through the fog and, as he watched, he saw it coming closer and closer. It was moving toward him. Mahad braced himself, gripping the bridle tightly, all the while calling out, "Mana? Is that you?"

Shortly, the dust parted, revealing the figure more lucidly. And Mahad saw it was most certainly not Mana. He was surprised he even remotely hoped it could be Mana; the shoulders were too broad, the neck too thick, and the entire body was quite tall, too burly and masculine to be Mana. Rather, it was a man, probably a thief or a murderer from the looks of it, on top of a horse. His skin was tanned, like any other Egyptian and the large muscles within his chest ripples smoothly beneath the taut skin. He wore only a violet kilt that matched for his equally violet and _violent _eyes. His hair was of a dusky white- unusual for any person especially for one that held the appearance of one so young. And, on his face, just below right eye, he bore a scar that stretched down his face, one that failed to heal overtime, only coupling with his frightening aura.

"Who are you?" Mahad demanded of him, his own composure maintaining a threatening element. The main remained silent, simply smirking. "I am a high priest of the pharaoh and I demand that you answer me. Now!" The man only flashed his teeth, grinning quite madly.

"You were looking for something, or rather, someone?" asked the man in a low, gravelly voice. He urged his hores forward and turned it slightly to the left, allowing Mahad to see what was draped over the horse and in the saddle behind him. And Mahad saw a small, unconscious figure, with ropes binding her wrists and ankles. Undoubtedly, Mana.

"Mana!" Mahad exclaimed, making a movement to hurl himself toward her. But, instantly, the man holding her captive pulled out a knife he had hidden somewhere and placed it threateningly to Mana's throat. Mahad froze, his gaze never leaving the blade of the knife.

"I'd watch yourself, if I were you," the man warned. "I happened to have found this pretty little lady caught in the sandstorm. I would say, if it weren't for me, she would be dead now. _I_ saved her. _You, _on the other hand, would have been too late."

"Well that's very kind of you," Mahad said through gritted teeth. "Too bad that knife you have at her neck would deem all of your effort meaningless." The man chuckled.

"You're a smart puppet of the pharaoh. I'm surprised he lets you think so much." The man's expression turned hard, cold and utterly livid. "When you follow him so blindly."

"What do you want?" Mahad barked at him, tiring of his antics.

"I'm not as evil as your people would like to think of me. I've just saved one of you even if you've done an irreparable wrong to me. So know this: you are even further into my debt." He sheathed the knife and grabbed Mana by the collar of her shirt, throwing her small body to Mahad who caught her securely in his strong arms. After reassuring himself that Mana was fine, Mahad looked back up to the strange man.

"My name is Akefia," he said. "Remember it, for we shall meet again."

* * *

Sorry that this chapters happens to be shorter than usual. I plan that the next chapter shall be this story's last. And, if not the next then the one after it. It was fun while it lasted. Thank to everyone who's supported it. And, please review this chapter!

_**-NuitSongeur**_


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